Waterproof structure for use in display device

ABSTRACT

A waterproof structure for use in display device includes a back cover ( 100 ), a display module ( 200 ) and a waterproof member ( 300 ). The back cover ( 100 ) includes a peripheral part of back cover ( 110 ), a stop part ( 120 ) connected to the peripheral part of back cover ( 110 ), and a groove ( 130 ) defined between the peripheral part of back cover ( 110 ) and the stop part ( 120 ), wherein the height of the peripheral part of back cover ( 110 ) is greater than the height of the stop part ( 120 ). The display module ( 200 ) is disposed on the back cover ( 100 ). The waterproof member ( 300 ) is disposed between the display module ( 200 ) and the stop part ( 120 ). Accordingly, the speed of moisture permeating into the display device can be buffered so as to prolong the service life.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/587,561 filed on Dec. 31, 2014, and entitled “WATERPROOFSTRUCTURE FOR USE IN DISPLAY DEVICE”. The entire disclosure isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a waterproof structure, especially to awaterproof structure for use in display device.

Description of Related Art

With the development of technology, an electronic device having a screenis commonly used in our daily lives for the purpose of transmitting dataat work, exchanging messages or even providing entertainments. A generalelectronic device, such as a portable device, a smart phone, a tabletcomputer or even an industrial computer, has become a media widely usedby consumers. Also, some consumers heavily rely on these electronicdevices, for example thinking about various issues or taking a drink infront of a computer, watching TV in a bathroom, bringing the electronicdevice while going out, or even operating a computer in a severeenvironment.

For these precision display devices, moisture may permeate into theelectronic device because of poor production or improper operation byconsumers. For ensuring the performance and the service life of adisplay device, a waterproof structure is often installed for reducingthe possibility of moisture permeating into the interior of a displaydevice. A conventional waterproof structure for use in display device isto install one or a plurality of waterproof strips at the periphery ofthe display device, so a waterproof objective can be achieved throughthe waterproof strips being provided on a panel and a front frame.However, the right-angle connecting locations defined between thewaterproof strips are unable to be tightly engaged, and a gap is veryeasily to be formed at the right-angle connecting locations, so a poorwaterproof performance is caused and moisture is allowed to easilypermeate. In addition, after the waterproof strip being used for aperiod of time, the waterproof strip would be deteriorated and fatigued,so the tight adhesion is no longer provided between the waterproof stripand the front frame or between the waterproof strip and the panel, and asituation of water or moisture permeating would occur which may causeshort circuit, malfunction or loose contact in the electronic device.

For improving the existed problems, some skilled people in the artprovide a design of installing waterproof structures (not limited to theabove-mentioned waterproof strip) at proper locations of the displaydevice; however, the installation of each additional waterproofstructure would result in more complicated in production, increasing theproduction cost and hard to simplify the production procedure forsatisfying massive production.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the applicant of the presentinvention provides a design of enabling the water permeated into thedisplay device to be easily discharged while the display device being inuse, so the water can be prevented from being remained inside themachinery and the smooth operation of internal components can beensured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is to provide a waterproof structure for use indisplay device capable of effectively buffering the speed of moisturepermeating into the display device so as to prolong the service life.

The present invention is to provide a waterproof structure for use indisplay device capable of effectively discharging water therebypreventing the water from being remained in the display device so as toensure the smooth operation of internal components.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a waterproof structure foruse in display device, which includes a back cover, a display module anda waterproof member. The back cover includes a peripheral part of backcover, a stop part connected to the peripheral part of back cover, and agroove defined between the peripheral part of back cover and the stoppart, wherein the height of the peripheral part of back cover is greaterthan the height of the stop part. The display module is disposed on theback cover. The waterproof member is disposed between the display moduleand the stop part.

Preferably, the peripheral part of back cover and the stop part arecontinuously connected thereby forming an enclosed rectangular shapeallowing the display module to be disposed. The groove further includesa plurality of partition pieces, each of the partition pieces isrespectively connected to one lateral wall of the peripheral part ofback cover and one lateral wall of the stop part, and the length/heightof each of the partition pieces is smaller than the length/height of thestop part. Each of the partition pieces is formed in a rectangular,elliptical or polygonal shape.

Preferably, the waterproof member is formed in an annular status andadhered on one lateral surface of the display module. The waterproofmember is integrally formed as an annular structure adhered on onelateral surface of the display module. The waterproof member includestwo waterproof parts, and the cutting surface of each of the waterproofparts is respectively formed as an inclined surface or a polygonalsurface for being engaged with each other so as to form an annularstructure.

In comparison with related art, the present invention has advantageousfeatures as follows. Through each of the partition pieces beingconnected to the peripheral part of back cover and the stop part, thedanger of water or moisture permeating into the display module can befurther relieved, so the display module is able to be prevented frombeing damaged or abnormally operated, and an advantage of convenient inproduction can also be provided. In other words, the installation of thepartition pieces can solve the problem of the stop part generatingstress concentration due to the smaller dimension, and the groovebetween the peripheral part of back cover and the stop part is alsoprovided with an advantage of allowing a mold to be easily released.Moreover, for increasing the production efficiency and enhancing thepositioning effect, the present invention further includes a supporter.The supporter installed corresponding to the back cover is formed withat least one semi-circular positioning post allowing at least onepositioning hole formed on the back cover to be assembled andpositioned.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing a waterproof structure for use indisplay device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the assembly of the waterproofstructure for use in display device according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the waterproof member according tothe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of FIG. 4 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partially frontal view showing the back cover according tothe present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 7 taken along A-A;

FIG. 9 is another partially frontal view showing the back coveraccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along B-B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a waterproof structure for use in displaydevice capable of slowing moisture permeating into the display device.According to the present invention, the display device is preferably tobe a computer system capable of being independently operated andinstalled with a screen, such as a tablet computer, an industrialcomputer or other similar electronic devices. However, according toother embodiments, the display device can also be an electronic devicehaving a screen, such as a notebook computer, a mobile phone, a digitalcamera, a monitor or other electronic devices. The backlight source ofthe display device includes, but not limited to, a liquid crystal, lightemitting diode (LED) or plasma for providing the backlight source.Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the drawings.

Please refer from FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the waterproof structure for use indisplay device includes a back cover (100), a display module (200) and awaterproof member (300). The back cover (100) includes a peripheral partof back cover (110), a stop part (120) connected to the peripheral partof back cover (110) and a groove (130) defined between the peripheralpart of back cover (110) and the stop part (120), wherein the height ofthe peripheral part of back cover (110) is greater than the height ofthe stop part (120). The display module (200) is disposed on the backcover (100). The waterproof member (300) is disposed between the displaymodule (200) and the stop part (120).

According to this embodiment, a supporter (500) is further included forbeing assembled with the back cover (100). For increasing the productionefficiency and enhancing the positioning effect, at least onesemi-circular positioning post (550) is formed on the supporter (500)corresponding to the back cover (100), thereby allowing at least onepositioning hole (150) formed on the back cover (100) to be assembledand positioned. As shown in FIG. 1, the supporter (500) further includesan upper support (510) and a lower support (520) and a connection piece(530) respectively connected to the upper support (510) and the lowersupport (520). Substantially, each of the semi-circular positioningposts (550) is preferably to be respectively formed on one lateralsurface of the upper support (510) and one lateral surface of the lowersupport (520), thereby allowing the corresponding positioning holes 150of the back cover (100) to be assembled and positioned. Thesemi-circular positioning post (550) is provided with an advantage ofless likely to generate stress concentration thereby avoiding theoccurrence of deformation, and a more precise positioning relation canbe formed between the semi-circular positioning post (550) and thepositioning hole (150).

As shown in FIG. 2, the display module (200) includes a display panel(210), a backlight source (220), a drive IC and circuit board (230) orother components. The display module (200) is deemed as a prior art,therefore no further illustration is provided. As shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 2, the peripheral part of back cover (110) and the stop part (120)are continuously connected thereby forming an enclosed rectangular shapeallowing the display module (200) to be disposed. As shown in FIG. 3,the groove (130) further includes a plurality of partition pieces (140),and each of the partition pieces (140) is respectively connected to onelateral wall of the peripheral part of back cover (110) and one lateralwall of the stop part (120); in other words two sides of each of thepartition pieces (140) are respectively connected to the lateral wall ofthe peripheral part of back cover (110) and the lateral wall of the stoppart (120) defined in the groove (130), the above-mentioned structurewill be further disclosed thereinafter.

For allowing the display module (200) to be easily assembled with theback cover (100), the back cover (100) can be formed with an assemblytolerance for facilitating the assembly of the display module (200). Asshown in FIG. 3, one side of the display module (200) or the waterproofmember (300) is adjacently connected to an inner wall of the peripheralpart of back cover (110), so water may enter from the assemblytolerance. However, the groove (130) between the peripheral part of backcover (110) and the stop part (120) is able to provide a bufferingeffect, so water is prevented from directly flowing in from a gap (160)defined between the back cover (100) and the display module (200). Evenif the water accidentally flows in the groove (130) disclosed in thisembodiment, the groove (130) can be served to effectively discharge thewater from the gap (160), thereby preventing water from remaining in theelectronic device, and the smooth operation of internal components canbe ensured. Moreover, according to the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 3,the thickness/width of the peripheral part of back cover (110) isgreater than the thickness/width of the stop part (120).

Please refer to FIG. 4, the waterproof member (300) is formed in anannular status and adhered on one lateral surface of the display module(200). Preferably, the waterproof member (300) is integrally formed asan annular structure (310) adhered on one lateral surface of the displaymodule (200). As shown in FIG. 4, the waterproof member (300) can alsobe formed as the annular structure (310) composed of two waterproofparts (320), (330) being engaged with each other. For preventingmoisture from permeating into the display module (200) from the cuttingedges of the waterproof parts (320), (330), the cutting surface of eachof the waterproof parts (320), (330) is formed as an inclined surface asshown in FIG. 5. According to the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 6, thecutting surface of each of the waterproof parts (320), (330) can also beformed as a polygonal surface or other suitable geometric surface.Moreover, the material of which the waterproof member (300) is made canbe: silicon, plastic, rubber, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) or othersuitable materials.

Please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, each of the partition pieces (140)arranged at the periphery of the back cover (100) is mainly served toincrease the difficulty for moisture entering the display module (200);in other words the time for moisture directly permeating into theelectronic device can be buffered. According to this embodiment, thelength/height of each of the partition pieces (140) is smaller than thelength/height of the stop part (120). However, according to theembodiment disclosed in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the length/height of each ofthe partition pieces (140) can also be equal to the length/height of thestop part (120) with respect to the actual needs. Moreover, the shape ofeach of the partition pieces (104) can be for example but not limited torectangular, elliptical or polygonal.

Through each of the partition pieces (140) being connected to theperipheral part of back cover (110) and the stop part (120), the dangerof water or moisture permeating into the display module (200) can befurther relieved, the display module (200) is able to be prevented frombeing damaged or abnormally operated, and an advantage of convenient inproduction can also be provided. In other words, the installation of thepartition pieces (140) can solve the problem of the stop part (120)generating stress concentration due to the smaller dimension, and thegroove (130) between the peripheral part of back cover (110) and thestop part (120) is also provided with an advantage of allowing a mold tobe easily released.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to theforegoing preferred embodiment, it will be understood that the inventionis not limited to the details thereof. Various equivalent variations andmodifications can still occur to those skilled in this art in view ofthe teachings of the present invention. Thus, all such variations andequivalent modifications are also embraced within the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A waterproof structure for use in display device,including: a back cover, including a peripheral part of back cover, astop part connected to the peripheral part of back cover, and a groovedefined between the peripheral part of back cover and the stop part,wherein a height of the peripheral part of back cover being greater thana height of the stop part; a display module, disposed on the back cover,wherein a gap is defined between the back cover and the display module,so water in the groove is capable of being discharged through the gap;and a waterproof member, disposed between the display module and thestop part, wherein the groove further includes a plurality of partitionpieces, and each of the partition pieces is respectively connected toone lateral wall of the peripheral part of back cover and one lateralwall of the stop part.
 2. The waterproof structure for use in displaydevice according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral part of back coverand the stop part are continuously connected thereby forming an enclosedrectangular shape allowing the display module to be disposed.
 3. Thewaterproof structure for use in display device according to claim 1,wherein a length/height of each of the partition pieces is smaller thana length/height of the stop part, and each of the partition pieces isformed in a rectangular, elliptical or polygonal shape.
 4. Thewaterproof structure for use in display device according to claim 1,wherein a thickness/width of the peripheral part of back cover isgreater than a thickness/width of the stop part.
 5. The waterproofstructure for use in display device according to claim 1, wherein oneside of the display module or the waterproof member is adjacentlyconnected to an inner wall of the peripheral part of back cover.
 6. Thewaterproof structure for use in display device according to claim 1,wherein the waterproof member is formed in an annular status and adheredon one lateral surface of the display module.
 7. The waterproofstructure for use in display device according to claim 1, wherein thewaterproof member is integrally formed as an annular structure adheredon one lateral surface of the display module.
 8. A waterproof structurefor use in display device, including: a back cover, including aperipheral part of back cover, a stop part connected to the peripheralpart of back cover, and a groove defined between the peripheral part ofback cover and the stop part, wherein a height of the peripheral part ofback cover being greater than a height of the stop part; a displaymodule, disposed on the back cover, wherein a gap is defined between theback cover and the display module, so water in the groove is capable ofbeing discharged through the gap; and a waterproof member, disposedbetween the display module and the stop part, wherein the waterproofmember includes two waterproof parts, and a cutting surface of each ofthe waterproof parts is respectively formed as an inclined surface or apolygonal surface for being engaged with each other so as to form anannular structure.
 9. A waterproof structure for use in display device,including: a back cover, including a peripheral part of back cover, astop part connected to the peripheral part of back cover, and a groovedefined between the peripheral part of back cover and the stop part,wherein a height of the peripheral part of back cover being greater thana height of the stop part; a display module, disposed on the back cover,wherein a gap is defined between the back cover and the display module,so water in the groove is capable of being discharged through the gap; awaterproof member, disposed between the display module and the stoppart; and a supporter formed with at least one semi-circular positioningpost, wherein the back cover is further formed with at least onepositioning hole thereby allowing the at least one semi-circularpositioning post to be positioned.